The Depiction of Emotion in Carolingian Art

That Carolingian artists sought to depict emotion in some of their works has long been textbook wisdom, indeed has been identified as one of the most interesting and significant achievements of Carolingian art. Depiction of emotion has been constructed as one aspect of the so-called “Carolingian Renaissance,” setting it apart from the immediately preceding “barbarian” tradition on the one hand, and from contemporary eastern Mediterranean art on the other.  According with this historiographical perspective, an aspect of the long dominant paradigmatic master narrative for early medieval history, the depiction of emotion in Carolingian art has generally been regarded as either a result of a return to ancient models, or as an expression of “barbarian” intensity.  The two explanations, presented here in an admittedly albeit unavoidably reductive manner, are fairly obviously in sharp conflict with one another.  Surprisingly, and sadly, little if any attention has been paid to the possibility that the depiction of emotions might be related to, if not altogether explained by, contemporary Carolingian literature and historical writing.  Using such works of art as the mourning angels of the Lindau Gospels cover and manuscripts such as the Utrecht Psalter, perhaps most commonly adduced as examples in the previous scholarly literature, as well as some other images, this short paper will seek to explore Carolingian artistic depictions of emotion in their contemporary context.